


All bets off

by RavenShira



Series: Ninken Intervention [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkwardness, Conspiracy, Drunk Sex, Drunken Flirting, F/M, Former Teacher-Student Relationship, Mutual Pining, One Night Stands, betting pools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-05 01:50:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16801294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenShira/pseuds/RavenShira
Summary: The first thing that boggled her mind was that Kakashi was not, as she had previously thought, asexual. In all her years as his student and the years after when she became Tsunade's apprentice, never had she seen him take even the slightest interest in anyone. The second surprise was that it was her he had taken to bed after a delightful party where she hadn't even expected him to show his face. That was fine. More than fine, it was a positive surprise.The last and most troubling thing that was currently occupying her mind was: Kakashi was now avoiding her.Sakura trailed a finger along the glass on the tabletop in front of her, her brow furrowing in thought before a small smile crept onto her face.Or: A one-night-stand, conspiracies and mutual pining. All bets are off.





	All bets off

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moonlight_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlight_Lily/gifts).



_It was Ino's birthday, her twentieth to be exact and it was a huge celebration. Not only had most of their classmates found the time, a lot of the jonin-teachers were attending too. Sakura was leaning against the bar, a pleasant haze settled over her thoughts as she watched her friends laugh and have fun together. She had come straight from the hospital and hadn't really eaten that much yet, so the alcohol that had been shoved at her when she had arrived at the Yamanaka compound had hit stronger than she had anticipated. She blamed it on that, that she nearly jumped out her skin when a low voice muttered into her ear, so close that the breath was tickling her skin and sending a shiver down her back._

“ _I hadn't thought you would manage to come when I didn't see you at the start.”_

_Sakura turned slightly, enough to see Kakashi behind the bar, leaning over to get closer to her. She blinked lazily, mild surprise warring with a touch of arousal at his appearance. It was a rare sight when Kakashi dressed in anything else than his usual work cloths, and if Sakura didn't know better she would have thought someone had forced Kakashi's hand to attend. Yet here he was, and she knew nobody could make her sensei do anything unless he didn't really mind doing whatever it was. Much less make him dress up for an occasion._

_Never before though had she seen him in a haori. A suit, when formal moments called for it. But a haori? It may look simple; the dark blue haori jacket that matched with his mask with a dark grey, striped hakama. A simply eyepatch hid the sharingan, leaving unruly silver hair to fall more freely while it gleamed in the dim light._

_He looked surprisingly comfortable in the garb and almost languid as he leaned close to her._

_It also made her aware that she was still sweaty and dressed in her usual Qipao dress. There hadn't been much time and she hadn't wanted to arrive any later than she already was._

_Ignoring her own state Sakura turned a little more to him and felt a smile tug at her lips. She hadn't seen Kakashi since her last mission with him and she had missed him._

“ _Kakashi... what a surprise to see you here.”_

“ _Can't become predictable in my old age, can I now?” Kakashi joked, drawing back a little and resting his elbows on the bar. “Busy day?”_

_Sakura let out a low moan, her head rolling back as she closed her eyes._

“ _You wouldn't believe me...” she whimpered. It had been very, very busy. It's like the world conspired against her even though she had planned and tried to leave earlier to come to Ino's celebration on time, if not early._

_She had known she wouldn't be able to leave early when she had gone to work to find several co-workers had fallen ill. With the additional workload it had already been a struggle to leave punctual, but it would have been manageable. And yet, she had been three hours late. Why?_

_Because she had to deal with the stupidity that seemed to affect the majority of the shinobi-forces. There had been a full-out brawl in a bar with severed limbs that needed to be reattached, a few third degree burns that needed treatment and some other more minor wounds after one or more jutsu had gone awry. Then, when she had finally thought she was free, there had been an emergency in the intensive care unit that she had needed to deal with._

_Her chakra supply was at a low point and if it had been anything else than Ino's birthday, Sakura would have given the world the middle finger and crawled into bed to forget about the day. Instead she had taken a soldier pill – not her smartest idea but she wouldn't have any energy left otherwise – and was now sipping alcohol. She would crash later, but for now she decided to enjoy her newfound energy and regret her life-choices later._

_Kakashi cleared his throat, a raspy sound that drew her attention back to him. She saw him look down at his hands quickly when he noticed her staring back._

“ _Sounds like a rough day.” he muttered, then looked up and eye-smiled at her. It was weird how she had often thought it looked fake in the beginning, but now, several years later, she could easily tell apart his expressions by minute changes. It wasn't easy, with most of his face covered as it was but she had years of practice._

“ _You deserve a break.” Kakashi said sincerely as he drew up to his full height and toasted to her with his own glass. “Enjoy your evening.”_

_Sakura smiled and clinked her glass gently against his “You too. I'll see you later, I'm sure.”_

_She watched as he disappeared between the bodies. Her last view of him was as he dodged a tackle-hug from Gai, only to be dragged to a table with other jonins and settling in._

_She shook herself as someone else came up to her._

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

A month had passed since Sakura had last seen Kakashi. For the first few weeks after That Night, she had firmly believed he was simply busy. A mission could take that long, yet it was rare that he wouldn't come by in between when he was free. A little worried about the silence, she had visited Iruka-sensei and dropped a few subtle questions.

In the end she had gathered that Kakashi wasn't on a mission at all.

He was avoiding her.

Sakura stared into the tumbler of liquid courage, glimmering in a soft golden tone in the lights of the bar she had ended up in after her night shift at the hospital. Her finger trailed over the rim of the glass as her brow furrowed in thought, her memories taking her back to That Night.

_There had been no reason to deny Kakashi when he offered to accompany her back home. They had both drank their fair share in alcohol, yet they were shinobi and caution would never allow them to drink so much as to make them unable to act. The fresh night air made Sakura dizzy, letting her sway as she closed her eyes to enjoy the gentle breeze after the stifling heat from inside. Kakashi was a warm presence at her side, steadying her when she stumbled and chuckling lowly when she leaned into him. Sakura shivered, but not for the reason Kakashi must have thought. His hands rubbing up and down her arms to warm her up didn't help the matter. Reluctantly Sakura drew away, she didn't want to make her former sensei uncomfortable._

_They walked in comfortable silence. As they were used to each other talking wasn't a necessity. Yet, despite her former tiredness, Sakura found herself too keyed up to want to end the evening and go to sleep._

“ _Do you want to come up with me?” she offered Kakashi instead “I can make a small midnight snack and something to drink. It's been a while since we last had the chance to talk.” she smiled when Kakashi simply held the door to her apartment-building open for her before following her up the steps. Clumsily she opened the door, shaking her boots off with practiced ease and mentioning for Kakashi to enter himself._

“ _Make yourself at home. I'm just dressing in something more comfortable.” she wasn't shy about that anymore, not after sharing a tent during missions and having to change clothes in the wilderness. While she didn't stand for her teammates taking peaks, sometimes it was simply unavoidable. Not to mention that during fights it happened more often than not that clothes got ripped beyond repair. More than once she had borrowed shirts from her teammates, Kakashi included._

_She could hear him settle in her small living room. This was not the first time he had been over and he was comfortable enough by now to get his own drinks if he wanted while Sakura quickly slipped out of her dress and into a more comfortable shirt and pants that she usually wore to sleep in._

_Coming back out she nearly stumbled over her own feet she saw him slouching on the couch, haori falling open a little as he watched her through a half-lidded eye. He probably didn't know how good he looked and Sakura felt herself getting a little hot under the scrutiny. She tiptoed to the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking a bottle of wine out of it before hip-checking the door close again. She scolded herself mentally for being nervous. He had been over plenty of times, after all. Shaking herself out of her thoughts she poured them two glasses and picked them up. Trying to repress her attraction she sauntered over to him and held out one of the wineglasses for him to take._

_He took it, his fingers trailing over hers making her nearly drop her own as she startled. She stared at him for a long moment, unsure if it had been an accident or on purpose. Weighing her options and bolstered by liquid courage, she finally allowed herself to smile. Slowly she lifted her glass up and swirled it before she took a sip, never backing off from where she was standing between his legs. She could feel him watching her and feeling encouraged, she decided to simply go for it._

_She moved deliberately, telegraphing her movements so Kakashi would have plenty of time to stop her if he wanted to. She placed her right knee on the padding to his side, her hand steadying herself at the back of the couch behind Kakashi as she leaned in, crowding him against the backrest. Peaking at him she noticed his wide eyed look staring at her in surprise, but there was a heat in his gaze that was undeniable and Sakura wanted to preen. She had put that look on him. His haori slipped open a little more as he leaned back. He was watching her, carefully but with interest._

_Slowly, since he hadn't pushed her away yet, she placed her other knee on his other side, her left hand holding on to her wineglass carefully as she settled on his lap. She cursed herself that she had redressed in trousers now, but in the end it wouldn't matter if this would go the way she wanted it to. For a moment his free hand hovered, clearly not sure where to settle before he carefully placed it on her knee. His warmth burned through the thin fabric as he carefully stroked her leg, fingers creeping up from near her knee to her upper tight and higher by inches before stilling again._

_She took another sip, licking the sweet flavoured wine off her lips as she watched Kakashi doing the same._

_Leaning in she slowly angled her head until their noses were nearly touching._

_Then a devilish smile curved her lips and couldn't help herself but teasingly purr against his._

“ _So... how was your mission, Kakashi?”_

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

Five weeks since that night and Sakura hasn't been able to stop thinking about it. Not only because it had been amazing and she wouldn't mind a repeat, or even several, no. Mostly because Kakashi was still avoiding her. If Kakashi didn't want a relationship, she would be able to live with that and continue as friends and co-workers, after some disappointment. But she _could_ live with it, put it behind her and act professional. She had managed just fine with Sasuke even if it had taken her a while.

Not seeing Kakashi at all, one of her closest friends and confidants? That she couldn't live with and it hurt that he still avoided her. It didn't help that her body still remembered That Night, but for Sakura it would have been easier if he spoke plainly and simply told her he wasn't interested in more, so they could return to the status quo.

Moodily, Sakura stared at the fresh procure at the market. She didn't like this at all, but finding Kakashi was a challenge in itself and that was when he didn't bother actively hiding himself.

_Fingers trailing over her skin, tracing her spine and making her arch into the touch. A low chuckle at her ear caused her to gasp. He was warm. Warm and strong and she fit into his arms so well that she wanted to cry at the unfairness that they had waited so long to take this step._

“ _Kakashi~” she moaned with a desperate plea, her skin already glistening with sweat even as he rubbed a finger over her clitoris, making her toes curl in the linen. He was teasing her. Gently, insistingly but with a maddening pleasure that made Sakura want to punch him, or draw him closer and beg for more. Her fingers clutched at the headboard above her so tight that she wondered if she would break it apart. She wanted to touch, let her hands explore him back just as he was doing to her, yet every time she tried he would stop his movements until she put her hands back above herself._

_A low chuckle drew her attention back to him. It was too dark to see him, but she had felt him briefly, when they had undressed each other. His mask was gone and Sakura wished she had better eyesight if only to finally see his face. He was watching her, one dark eye and one red eye that was almost glowing with intensity in the dark. She flushed again as his gaze devoured her, half annoyed but much more aroused._

_He chuckled again and it send a jolt through her body. He knew it affected her, the sharingan would hardly miss her full body shudder even as Kakashi descended on her and licked the sweat off her skin, making her arch her neck to give him more room._

“ _What is it, Sakura?” he rumbled into her ear, before nipping at her throat, sending a jolt of electricity through her when she realized that his teeth were far sharper than a normal humans. Her breath hitched and she could feel the smirk against her skin as he caressed the sting of the bite with his tongue. He was unfairly good at this and Sakura had never even suspected._

“ _D-don't tease, you prick!” the finger stroked over her clitoris again, making her chase it before it disappeared once more. Sakura whimpered at the loss._

Something cold touched her neck and Sakura jumped with a shriek, turning around to face a very bemused Ino staring at her. Flushing hotly Sakura took the cold drink her friend offered her and stammered out an excuse as she wished that the floor would just open up and swallow her whole.

She remembered when she woke up and had been alone. The resignation and sadness and insecurity that had gripped her for a second before she had pulled herself together. Before she had known he would disappear from more than her bed. Now she wished that she had been a little more aware, a little less exhausted and been able to catch him before he slipped away.

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

Seven weeks after The Night, and it was hardly surprising that Sakura would jump at any chance to talk to Kakashi. She missed him, and she hated that he had pulled so far back as to be non existent in her life. She hated it enough that when she saw Pakkun on the streets, she dognapped him. He didn't exactly put up a fight, but she still felt kinda bad about it as they sat across from each other in her living room, with Pakkun on her table and her on the couch where everything had started.

“I just want to talk to him Pakkun!” she tried to wheedle, but Kakashi's companion was loyal as ever.

“No can do.” Pakkun said, thumping his little tail on the table. “Boss said not to reveal his location to anyone.”

Curse Kakashi for thinking ahead. Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated and a little bit angry. Stubbornly she raised her head, crossing her arms over her chest and squinting at Pakkun. The fingers of her right hand tabbed thoughtfully against her left arm.

“So... you cannot reveal his location, but...” she smiled innocently as a thought occurred to her “... he didn't say anything against helping to draw him out, did he?”

Pakkuns tail thumbed more rapidly against the table, dark eyes gleaming.

“He did not.” Pakkun agreed and Sakura mentally fistpumped.

“Will you help me?” she asked hopefully and deflated as Pakkun snorted at her. She was ready to give up when the little pug spoke up again.

“What's in for me?” the ninken finally demanded and Sakura barked out a laugh. She could think about something.

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

Kakashi stood in his kitchen, lowering the dogfood to the ground. That in itself was nothing new, nor surprising. No, the thing that settled uneasily in his stomach was the lack of ninken nipping at his heels, urging him on to hurry as if they were going to starve any minute. Only Bull, Urushi and Akino were around, leaving the rest of the pack mysteriously absent. It rarely happened and usually Kakashi knew why they didn't appear, due to delivering a message for him or some other mostly mission related business they were taking care of.

Kakashi didn't like it. It unsettled him not knowing where his pack was and if they needed him, or where he would even have to turn to to figure out if something had happened to them. It itched him to simply summon them, but he also didn't want to be too commanding. He could be patient and wait for them to return before figuring out what was going on.

Hiding out in his apartment and going on as many missions outside the village had become a new routine for him, so maybe it wasn't surprising that his ninken had felt his lack of presence and resorted to doing other things. Not that that had ever happened before, but he couldn't blame them.

All because he couldn't keep it in his pants and had to bed a former student of his.

_Kakashi had watched her since she had entered. Her cheeks were flushed and there was a jittery sort of energy about her. Combined with her harried state, he could probably safety conclude that her late arrival was due to a harsh night at the hospital, something she had complained about several times already when he had visited her, or they had found the chance to go to lunch together. He enjoyed her company immensely, but lately he had found that he was seeing her in a different light. Beforehand she had been his student, the one that was in his mind the most stable and thus the one he had not kept as close an eye on as he probably should have. Now she was Tsunade's apprentice and he regretted not having more of a hand in her education. But then again Kakashi was of the firm conviction that he might have been rather lacking as a teacher, but equally of the belief that he had given his students other lessons far more valuable than mere jutsu._

_Jutsu had lost their importance to him after he had copied the first couple of hundreds. No, much more interesting were the inoffical rules of the world, the ones that Kakashi hadn't learned about in a book but through bloody tragedies and unimaginable horrors that he wanted to spare the three little children shoved under his care._

_Not that he had truly managed that either._

_Sasuke had run, and Kakashi knew that he had lost something precious under Orochimaru's care and something else had broken beyond repair with the death of his older brother and the truth about his family. Sasuke hardly ever smiled. There had been a short period in Team Seven where he had started to open up a little. Where he had shared little smirks with Naruto, and shy smiles with Sakura. A mere short month before everything had crashed down on them, ripped them apart but that softer side seemed gone. He came back, sometimes, but he was distant, his gaze far away. Maybe someday he would be able to mend some of the wounds that had festered for too long and then left unattended for even longer. Maybe he would find a reason to live beyond redemption._

_Naruto had not changed much, but he had grown. Jiraya had done a good job, even if Kakashi resented and admired the man in equal parts. Resented him because Jiraya was Naruto's godparent and yet had never looked at Naruto until much later, even if he could understand the reasoning and honestly wasn't the right person to talk about abandonment when he had been in the village and wilfully ignored Naruto's presence himself, too raw and still bleeding from his own losses, too shattered to not hurt an innocent child with his mere presence. Now though Naruto had grown. Was still growing and Kakashi was proud of him._

_Sakura had probably changed the most. She had started out as a lovesick little girl looking through rose-tinted glasses, that had quickly learned that she wouldn't get her happy end just because she believed in it. He had watched her struggle with her feelings for Sasuke, unable to let go but also unable to hold on, breaking apart at times then putting herself together, stronger, hiding the cracks on her heart like a work of Kintsugi, golden lines on the cracked edges making her more beautiful than before, stronger and different but still with the same characteristics._

_Now she was a woman, one of the strongest, most talented and dangerous shinobi alive and Kakashi's gaze was drawn to her more and more. He sighed, frustrated and took another swing of the sake bottle on the table in front of him, before getting up. He meandered over to her, the dim light making her pale her glimmer in white and soft rose hues, She was beautiful and Kakashi's fingers twitched. He wanted to reach out and touch her. Instead he leaned on the bar, arms crossed and fingers curled, leaning forward to talk into her ear._

_He was her teacher. He shouldn't find her attractive. He shouldn't look at her in that light at all._

Kakashi sank into a chair an heaved a deep sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. He shouldn't have gone to her place drunk, shouldn't have indulged her but...

Her smell, her confidence, her smile. Everything had drawn him in until he had been helpless but want to please her no matter how sickenly it was for him. If Tsunade ever found out there would be hell to pay. Sakura may be twenty now, but she had still been his student and the last thing he wanted to be the cause of was to tarnish her reputation in any way. His hands were too bloodied, enemies lurking in too many shadows just waiting for a chance to strike.

But Sakura was capable. He knew that. She was confident and self assured and talented, even though he felt he had done little to help her grow.

It didn't help that she had also been drunk. Clear-headed enough maybe, but still drunk enough that Kakashi felt as if he had taken advantage. And now he was being a coward and avoiding her, unsure how she would react, and unsure if he could keep himself in check now that he had had her once. He didn't do feelings very well.

He was just confused. And until he sorted himself out and got himself back under control, it was undeniably better to stay away from temptation.

He heaved another sigh, but looked up sharply when Pakkun appeared in the summoning circle that he had placed in a corner especially for his ninken. Kakashi narrowed his eyes when Pakkun refused to make eye-contact.

“Alright.” he muttered, snatching the pug up by his ruff before he could slink past him into the kitchen and pulling him up to eye-level “Out with it. What have you been up to?”

Kakashi eye-smiled as his cute little pug squirmed in his grip and whined pitifully, which went ignored with ease of practice.

“Kakashi. I don't lick and tell.” Pakkun finally ground out and glowered back at Kakashi who honestly felt a little gobsmacked at that tibit of information. He narrowed his eyes, then fake-smiled at his little bundle of joy. He enjoyed how Pakkun fell limp in his grip, freezing in trepidation.

“Mah, mah. No need to be shy.” Kakashi cooed softly. “If you found your doggy love, clearly you are overdue for a talk about how to treat a lady anyways and I would be remiss in my duties if I ignored your plight.”

The joy Kakashi felt at Pakkun's appropriately horrified expression was a welcome relief from his own troubled state.

In the end he couldn't manage to make his ninken talk about where they were disappearing to, much to his own irritation and worry. But he did manage to get them to agree to not leave as often as they had this past week and to inform him if they were going away for a while, and how long. That he would try and follow them was implied and Kakashi wasn't surprised then they didn't even bother trying to sneak away. They were good trackers, but Kakashi had learned all their tricks and then some. He could easily keep up with them and they knew it.

It bothered him a little that he didn't know where they had been going and why they were so unwilling to speak about it. Something like that had never happened before, but since it seemed to be over with Kakashi found himself relaxing again, letting himself be lulled back into his usual routine of missions, hiding away in random places with his book as his only company, or taking the pack out for training.

All went well, for about two weeks.

Then his ninken fell sick, one after another, refusing to eat and lying listlessly on the ground. Even Guruko who never could resist playing a game couldn't be motivated to move, curling up in a corner.

Their behaviour triggered every single alarm in Kakashi, as not eating was cause for major concern in any animal. When every known treatment didn't seem to work on them, Kakashi admitted defeat. Gathering his ninken up he put them in a cart, especially for cases like this. Bull was simply too big and heavy to carry around if he was ever injured. It probably made quite a picture as Kakashi dragged the cart through the village, but he ignored the stares as he neared the Inuzuka compound. He rarely had the need to visit. Mostly it was for check-ups or minor injuries, sometimes dog-treats or special nourishment supplements. But for most part Kakashi was proud to say he was able to look after his ninken on his own and hadn't really been required to come to the Inuzuka for help in quite some time. He even hunted and prepared the food himself to assure that his ninken had the best quality, not that many people knew about that.

But for the first time in many years, Kakashi was stumped as to what could be wrong with his pack and that... that was unacceptable.

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

“What do you mean you don't know what is wrong with them?” Kakashi blurted out as Hana checked over Urushi with a puzzled look on her face. Hana looked up at Kakashi with a sympathetic, yet slightly irritated expression.

“I mean that I cannot find anything wrong with them, physically, so far.” Hana repeated then eyed the ninken with a glint in her eyes.

“Maybe a blood-test will reveal more.” Urushi twitched on the table, sending a panicked look to Pakkun who was not so successfully hiding behind Kakashi's leg.

Kakashi send them an unimpressed look as low whining started up and pleading looks were send his way. Worry far outmatched any pity that could well up at the picture of pure misery his ninken displayed all of a sudden.

“Do it.” Kakashi ordered and narrowed his look at Bull who was inching closer to the door. Guruki had withdrawn into a corner, shaking from head to paw. His fear of needles was something Kakashi could relate to. There was a reason he avoided hospitals, more than one actually.

“If one paw is set out of this examination room before I am satisfied, there will be hell to pay.” Kakashi smiled as Bull hunched over and cowered on the floor, not that it made him seem any smaller while sending baleful looks at Pakkun for some reason.

In the end every single one of his ninken got blood drawn, and some supplements to bolster their immune system. Nothing else could be done and the results of the blood test would take some time.

“I'll send someone by with the results in a day or two.” Hana said to him as Kakashi put his whimpering pack back on the cart, still worrying but calmer now that he knew there was no known illness involved.

“Thank you for your time.” Kakashi replied and then made to walk all the way back, ignoring the stares of the passerby. Back home his ninken slinked past him with looks of utter betrayal on their faces.

Kakashi let out a weary sigh. It would take a lot of belly rubs for them to forgive him for taking them to the 'torture chamber'.

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

He had thought that with the visit to the veterinarian things would start to look up again. In the following days Kakashi had to admit that nothing much seemed to change, at least not for the better. His ninken were... listless. They performed their jobs, even if Kakashi was reluctant to send them out in the state they were currently in, but their usual exhilarated behaviour had been replaced by apathy and Kakashi couldn't stand it. The blood tests revealed nothing wrong either and another visit to the doctors, this time with Tsume overseeing the proceedings once more gave his ninken a clean bill of health.

But behaviour changes like that didn't appear for no reason.

Kakashi sat on his windowsill, watching the pack in the reflection of the glass and mulling over the situation. He hated to admit it but he didn't know what to do. But he knew someone who might, even if animals were not her speciality. She was one of the best healers and even she wouldn't turn him away with a sick ninken under his arm, even if he had taken advantage of her and then continued to avoid and ignore her.

Right?

Rubbing a hand over his face Kakashi growled to himself, the well-being of his ninken far surpassed any hint of shame or romantic feelings he should rather suppress. Decision made, Kakashi let out a low whistle and scooped Pakkun up when the pug trotted over, scratching him behind the ears. Pakkun slumped into his arms, near boneless and Kakashi let out a mellow sigh.

"Let's go." he mumbled. There was no reason to take the whole pack to Sakura's place, when she could simply check on Pakkun to see if anything was wrong. Maybe there was something she would notice that the Inuzuka had missed, even if Kakashi doubted it. The Inuzuka were specialised in looking after dogs after all, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

It wasn't because he missed talking to Sakura.

Standing in front of her apartment nearly made his courage leave him though. The last time he had been here...

_Sakura shivered in his arms as he gently but swiftly removed the fabric covering her chest, her delicate fingers seemed small against his own as she let her nails graze over his chest, glancing a nipple and testing his self control. He had already lost the haori jacket on the way to her bedroom, just as she had slipped out of her trousers on the way. She laughed when she felt that he still had his mask and headband on. Impatiently Kakashi removed the latter, his sharingan blinking open and revelling in the sight of her vulnerable state, his other hand drawing her closer again. His fingers wandered up and down her spine, down to her ass where he gripped her and drew her closer, grinding his erection against her and grinning when she moaned and her fingers turned into claws. Kitten claws, for all the strength she seemed to have now._

_He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful, and for a moment Kakashi wished they would turn on the light so he could see the flush that was surely turning her cheeks a rosy red, see how her eyes looked like when he brought her pleasure and how she would break apart underneath his ministrations before he put her back together. He crowded her back towards the bed, fingers of his free hand hooking under the mask and pulling it down to hang loosely from his neck before leaning forward and taking her in with all of his senses._

Ducking his head and trying to get rid of any lingering arousal the memory evoked, Kakashi took another troubled breath that he released with a sigh. He debated with himself but finally decided that if the kicked him out, it wouldn't be through the doorway and thus leaped up to her window, knocking before he could change his mind and decide to turn tail and slink back home. Pakkun wiggled in his grip. As Kakashi had only one hand free, he let out a little growl until Pakkun stilled again. His other hand clenched on the window-frame, debating if he should simply unlock the window and enter himself, but self preservation won out and he honestly didn't want to get punched by Sakura at full strength because he didn't respect her privacy.

When Sakura appeared, her hair was sleep-mussed and her flinty eyed stare turned to shocked surprise as she saw him crouching in her window.

Maybe the door would have been a better option after all.

It was a little awkward as they stared at each other through the window. Finally Kakashi couldn't take it anymore and made a helpless gesture at the latch, raising an eyebrow in inquirery at her. He chuckled when he saw her flush and hurry to open the window.

"Kakashi?" was the first thing she said to him, sounding a bit breathless and unsure.

"Mah, Sakura." Kakashi shifted from foot to foot, she was still blocking the window so he apparently wasn't allowed to get in yet.

"Long time no see!" he said brightly and then hurried on, holding Pakkun out like a shield (and ignoring the indignant yelps of his helpless pug) and right into Sakura's darkening face that spoke of a painful death and resurrection.

"My ninken are ill, can you check them over?"

There was a moment of silence, then a sigh and Kakashi dared to peak around Pakkun to see Sakura pinching the bridge of her nose. Finally she stepped to the side and let Kakashi hop into her room, mentioning to the table where Kakashi hurried over and put a surly looking ninken on top of it. Sakura gripped his shoulder and pushed him gently to the side, looking at Pakkun critically.

"You do know I'm not that kind of a doctor, right?" she asked him wryly, sending him a dry look to show just how unimpressed she was with him right now. Kakashi cringed.

"I know." he muttered and cast Pakkun a worried look. "They haven't been themselves lately."

"Oh?" Sakura inquired curiously "How so?"

Her fingers glowed a gentle green as she ran it over Pakkuns body, looking for anything out of order. Kakashi watched her for a while before replying to her question, telling her about all the differences. Narrowing his eyes he saw her movements become slower, her eyes sliding more to the side to avoid looking at him. He also noticed Pakkun grumpily staring at the wall.

That was when he became suspicious, narrowing his eyes a little as he slowly took a look around the apartment.

He noted the dog bowles and beds in the living room that he was absolutely sure hadn't been there during his last visit. The Inuzuka dog-treats that he could see in the kitchen and slowly but surely the whole situation started to make sense.

His worlds trailed off.

…

He had been played.

He, Kakashi Hatake, look underneath the underneath, had been fooled by his once student and very own ninken.

"Something you want to tell me, Sakura?" He said in a silky soft tone, smiling gently at her. He enjoyed her guilty shifting and the embarrassed flush on her cheeks, but also the stubborn tilt to her chin and the defiance in her eyes.

"You were avoiding me." She accused and Kakashi inclined his head in agreement. No reason to lie, really.

"I did." A flash of hurt passed through her eyes and Kakashi sighed.

"I'm not proud of what I did." he said slowly, testing out the words carefully. Now that they were here he could as well just talk about the whole situation, even if he would have preferred to let it fade into oblivion.

"I regret taking it so far when you were drunk. I should have had more control and-"

"You know that it takes two to tango, right?" Sakura interrupted him dryly yet amused.

"It's not like you forced me, I was a very willing, very enthusiastic participant."

Kakashi twitched. That... was not how he had imagined this conversation to go.

"I'm your teacher and I'm a decade older than y-"

"You _were_ my teacher." Sakura pointedly interrupted again while rolling her eyes.

"Now we are colleagues. Friends even, I would like to say." she cast him a hopeful look, her hand stroking absently over Pakkun's fur.

"Sakura-"

“I'm a woman with my own mind, Kakashi.” Sakura drawled unimpressed, crossing her arms defensively. “If I hadn't wanted you touching me, I would have punched you through my wall.”

Well.

...

He couldn't really argue with that.

Mouth twitching in amusement despite himself, Kakashi inclined his head again conceding her point.

He watched her as she rounded the table to get to his side again, keeping himself relaxed in a languid slouch against the wall, but open for approach. As a shinobi, reading bodylanguage was just as important as reading lips or knowing jutsu.

  
“So what are we going to do now?” he asked, watching Sakura through half lidded eyes. She was standing close. Closer than normal friends usually stood, apart from Gai because Gai simply doesn't have any appreciation of personal space. He reached out, slowly and still worried that she would draw away, settling his hands on her hips and drawing her closer to herself.

  
  


“Same as we ever have.” she replied with a mischievous smile. “With some perks we denied ourselves before.”

  
  


He smiled at the little note of a question in the last part, leaning forward and nuzzling her cheek, causing some of the tension to bleed out of her.

  
  


“Perks, huh?” he muttered, mind already jumping ahead, his grip on her tightening and drawing them almost flush against each other.

Slowly he pushed away from the wall, keeping Sakura close to himself as he walked her backwards towards the kitchen. Amusement and anticipation curled low in his belly. When they reached their destination, Sakura seemed confused but willing to indulge Kakashi as he turned her around. There was a spike of arousal he could detect as he pressed her to the counter, arms on either side of her caging her in.

Letting his fabric covered teeth scratch the surface of her skin, he enjoyed the way she stilled under his touch, how she turned warm and pliant and her smell changed to something softer, almost addicting and making him want to bury his face in her neck and never let go.

She smelled nervous, but also happy. While Kakashi didn't much care for the former, he couldn't get enough of the latter and promised himself that Sakura would have more reason to be happy in his presence than not from now on.

But he had to concentrate. He had held back long enough and clearly there had been no need for it. That didn't mean he couldn't punish her a little for her trickery. After all, he knew how delightful she was when he teased her.

He let one of his hands curl around her front, caressing her stomach as he brought them flush to each other and peaked over her shoulder. He was already hard and knew she would be able to feel it, but that would have to wait. There were other concerns that he couldn't let slip: His ninkens welfare. He wasn't exactly happy that Sakura had fed them without his knowledge, but she had and clearly she had done her best to insure they had the best food. That didn't mean his Ninken should get used to having two food sources and it also meant Kakashi would have to make sure Sakura knew how much food his ninken got, and how many times. Additionally, he wouldn't stand for his ninken to eat too much of the ready-made food. He gave them fresh meat and Sakura to learn to do the same.

Besides, teaching her now would be so much more fun.

He could be patient, and it would be worth it to watch her squirm. He wondered for how long he would manage to hold himself back.

It was crazy. He never let _anyone_ feed his ninken. But if it was Sakura... he wouldn't mind that much.

. • ~°~ • ❀ • ❀ • ❀ • ~°~ • .

“I won.” Tsume crowed cheerfully, ignoring the baleful look of Shibi and the scratching one from Shikaku.

“You cheated.” the latter muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes and dropping the money on the table.

“We don't even know yet that they really made up.” Chouza tried to wheedle out, still hoping that he had a chance to win. There was a lot of alcohol and money bet on how long it would take Kakashi and Sakura to get their shit together.

A snort cut Chouza off.

“If you think that Sakura will let Kakashi go before they talked it out...” Tsunade sounded amused “Let's just say, if that happened all the money from this pool would go into repairing the damage.”

Tsume quickly swiped the money off the table before their Godaime could get any ideas.

“I didn't cheat.” she sniffed disdainfully. She... didn't. There was nothing in the rules stating that she couldn't help them along a little. And honestly, even that was more helping another party to help her than being directly involved.

Sure, she now owed Pakkun quite a few treats that she would have to smuggle past Kakashi – nothing that would harm the ninken of course and every Inuzuka knew that Kakashi was almost religious in how his dogs were to be fed and a few treats wouldn't make a difference with the way Kakashi trained them anyways – but the alcohol was good, a rare sake that was hard to get and she was damn well going to enjoy drinking it.

It would have been wasted on Tsunade.

Maybe she could invite Sakura over, give her some hints about dog-care and squeeze out the details of their relationship out of her. It would be fun to tease Kakashi. The little kid had always been too serious, it was time he loosened up a little. It would be interesting to see how things would develop.

Maybe she should initiate another bet?

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Maie for the Secret Santa 2018 on our discord server [Icha Icha Paradise](https://discord.gg/Rwt84Gm)
> 
> You can find her as La-Moonlight-Lily on [tumblr](http://la-moonlight-lily.tumblr.com/) or [fanfiction.net](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2583388/La-Moonlight-Lily)
> 
> Happy Christmas to everyone!!!
> 
> (Somehow our server got impatient and started updating a day early. Whoops! :D)


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